Safety & Compliance

Roadcheck Uncovers Fewer Out-of-Service Violations

Inspectors issued the fewest number of out-of-service violations yet during this year’s Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance International Roadcheck.

The 2015 International Roadcheck took place from June 2 -4. During that time, CVSA inspectors carried out over 69,000 inspections. Out of that total, 44,989 were Standard Level I inspections, which are the most thorough type of roadside inspection.

Of all Level I inspections, only 3.6% of drivers and 21.6% of vehicles incurred out-of-service violations. That marked the lowest rates for which CVSA has data, which dates back to 1991. Level I inspections follow a 37-step procedure that involves examination of the driver’s record of duty status and the safety of the vehicle.

The emphasis for this year’s Roadcheck was on cargo securement and inspectors issued 2,439 violations for load securement.

The most common load-securement related violation was failure to prevent shifting/loss of load. The other most common violations were for failure to secure truck equipment, damaged tie downs, insufficient tie-downs and loose tie-downs.

The most common vehicle out-of-service violation this year was for the brake system, making up 27.5% of all OOS violations. This was followed by brake adjustment at 15.5% and then safe loading at 15.3%.

For drivers, hours of service was the most common reason for an OOS violation. HOS violations made up 46% of OOS violations, which were down slightly from 2014.

In hazardous materials vehicles, shipping papers were the most common OOS violations, at 27.5% followed by placards at 23.9%.

"The annual Roadcheck event is just one example of a continuing strong partnership among local, state and federal safety enforcement personnel,” said Scott Darling, FMCSA Acting Administrator. “It also serves as a valuable reminder that when it comes to commercial vehicle safety, everyone has an important role to play.”